MP Ferhat brings the forest fires in our region to the parliamentary agenda
Özgür Ferhat, MP of the Rhodope SYRIZA Party, has submitted a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Crisis and Civil Protection regarding the forest fires that have occurred in many parts of the country in recent months and the protection of settlements adjacent to forest ecosystems from further disasters.
In his parliamentary question, Özgür Ferhat pointed out that Prime Minister Kiryakos and the government are incompetent in the above-mentioned issues, that they are trying to cover up their failures by taking refuge in the excuse of the climate crisis, and that they ignore the reports and warnings put forward by experts and scientists on the subject.
Özgür Ferhat, who also included the data of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) for the year 2023, stated that 1,726,260 hectares of burnt area were recorded in Greece, and in the light of the same data, it is sadly ranked first among the EU countries.
Expressing that Yassıköy Municipality and the surrounding villages within the municipality boundaries, especially Susurköy, Narlıköy and Kozlardere, were adversely affected by the forest fires, MP Özgür Ferhat drew attention to the shortcomings of the government such as insufficient personnel, lack of coordination and the delay in the response of fire fighting equipment.
MP Ferhat stated that the pine forested areas around the villages of Arabaciköy, Bekirli, Yalımlı, Yassıköy, Büyük Müsellim, Çepelli, Eşekçili, Yuvacılı and Semetli, which are located within the same municipality boundaries, pose a potential danger and could lead to major disasters in case of fire and asked the relevant institutions to clear these areas, cut down pine trees and construct fire prevention zones.
Özgür Ferhat stated that according to the Constitution, the protection of the life and property of a person, the protection and preservation of the natural environment is the duty of the state and that this is the right of everyone and that the government should start the restoration of the natural environment of the areas affected by the fires as soon as possible in order to protect against possible flooding events.
In his parliamentary question, Deputy Özgür Ferhat asked the following questions to the relevant Ministers:
-On the one hand, will it be investigated whether the necessary preventive measures to prevent forest fires have been taken by the competent authorities in order to prevent the devastating effects of forest fires on the inhabitants of the settlements in question? On the other hand, will these measures support the Fire Brigade Organisation in carrying out its duties?
-Do you have any plans to create a vegetation and environmental zone that will function as a fire protection zone within the scope of the new planning around the forest lands in the province of Rodopi and close to the settlements?
Do you have a project for thinning and pruning existing trees as well as planting fire-resistant trees or shrubs?
-Do you plan to carry out a similar study in the Rhodope region for the creation of fire-resistant zones around forest settlements, as prepared by a group of scientists from the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment of the Aristotelio University of Thessaloniki? (As it will be remembered, in August 2021, after the fire in the Evia region, a group of scientists from the Aristotelio University of Thessaloniki conducted a study and this study programme was funded and implemented under the title "Afforestation in the Fire Affected Area of Northern Evia").
